believing whatever we are told or whatever we want.

When you gather young men and women into schools sequestered from reality, what you may get is folks who grow up either believing what they are told or believing it's sufficient to believe whatever they want. Stupid and sad whichever the direction. In the meantime, some doctors are beginning to prescribe "park time" as  means of alleviating the effects of depression and anxiety. They are writing actual prescriptions on paper and recording them in patient records just as they would if they were prescribing drugs.

We've noticed what a joy it is to spend time with our Goldendoodle Rosie in our side yard. Early morning or late at night with flashlight in hand, and observing the real world that surrounds us. I've learned that some of my best thinking and reflecting time is when I'm walking behind the push lawn mower.

At Clear Spring School after having had just a bit of snow, the woods are now relatively safe from ticks and the kids are allowed to build forts. There is no nature deficit disorder at our school. And if you would care to witness joy in service of learning, you would be in the right place.

When it comes to believing what ever you want,  or what you've been told over and over again, I'll ask you to examine your own life. When were the points at which you learned something that turned your life around? Can we use those points to reconsider American education? Were you doing something real? And if that may have been the case, can we use what you know to redesign American education so that kids are trusted to do real things?

Let's take time to be thankful that we have heads and hands and that if we put both to use at the same time, we will have the power to bring change even to an institution as large and out of touch as is American education.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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